I certainly can not take credit for this creative idea and don’t really know where it originated from. I saw a photo on the web and thought this is perfect for me to do for the class I’m giving this evening on Vertical Gardening at Riverside school.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Pallet Project
Posted in Uncategorized on May 23, 2012| 2 Comments »
FotoFriday – May 12, 2012
Posted in FotoFriday, Uncategorized on May 12, 2012| 2 Comments »
FotoFriday is a day late this week due to computer gremlins, but is it ever worth the wait! Linda sent photos that demonstrate using plantings and hardscape to create a motif. Colors and textures balance and unify to create a visual theme. These images are sure to bring out your own creative landscaping mojo!
Favorite Garden Tools
Posted in Uncategorized on May 1, 2012| 1 Comment »
We all have one or two all-time favorite tools. (You know, the ones you don’t loan to the neighbors because you know you’ll never get them back.) As we all burst into spring gardening chores, we’d like to know your favorite tools, brands, best price, why they are your favorites, etc. For starters, what are people’s choices for bypass pruners?
I remember Jennie showing us her scuffle hoe in a master gardener class. The closest I’ve found to it is the Flexrake CLA110 Classic Triangle Weeding Hoe that I found on Amazon for about $30. It seems very well made, has a nice feeling wooden handle, and works well. I just bought it last year so I can’t endorse it yet for longevity. I’ve also heard people raving about the Hori-Hori knives, but I’ve never seen one. I found a youtube video comparing them to a similar, less expensive tool.
What are your favorite tools? What are are your likes and dislikes? How expensive are they? Where can we find them?
FotoFriday – April 28, 2012
Posted in FotoFriday, Uncategorized on April 27, 2012| 1 Comment »
With my daughter’s wedding taking all my attention the past several weeks, I haven’t been able to work in my beds. The past few days I was able to at least walk around and re-discover what is growing. It is amazing how much pleasure seeing a few lovely things can bring! I took a few photos of some of those simple pleasures – little surprises that caught my eye. Not high art, but they made me happy so I’ll share them. (Click on the photos to view large.)
My flowering crab was shedding blossoms on my hostas. Something about them reminded me of a zen garden.
I liked the repeating vertical lines created by my ajuga against my wood fence.
Little surprises, simple pleasures – just about all the excitement I need for the time being!
FotoFriday – April 20, 2012
Posted in FotoFriday, Uncategorized on April 20, 2012| 2 Comments »
With spring well and truly here, it’s time to take off the lens covers and get ready for another season of FotoFriday! I think we were all hoping for some exciting winter scenes — but this was not to be.
Hey, Mr Postman ---
I have a rather interesting fall rural mailbox scene from a farmstead just down the road from Jennie’s . This farmer also likes to gussy up his barn with simple planters that never look out of place in the country.
Thanksgiving feast for a hungry squash borer.
Sue will be back in the director’s chair next week, with possibly some very interesting nature scenes from her recent time in Mississippi. In the meanwhile, please send her your apple and cherry blossom and other springtime photos. She can “fix” just about anything from a wedding reception to fuzzy photos — so don’t be put off if your snapshot isn’t of magazine quality! We want to see what interests you, and what’s in your garden.
Ornamental Kale
Frank.
Simplifying the Northeast Sidewalk Plan – by Jennie
Posted in MC Demonstration Garden, Perennials, Uncategorized on April 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »
(second in the Cutting Back series)
Click Here to See the Current Area Map
Joan Otter and Karen Bender met me at the demo gardens today and we worked through very cool breezes with a spatter of snowflakes, on cleaning up the northeast side groundcover area that they have decided to adopt, and pulling a few dozen clumps of garlic mustard here and there. We discussed a plan for changes but did not want to disturb the iris/violet combination blooming at its peak just now. Some of the pink daisy mums were dug to move but more are available for adoption as are the remaining plants listed for removal.
The groundcover areas frame the entrance to the building, so they are very noticeable. They get only morning sun, and due to the overhang, very little rain in summer, so the plants growing there are very drought-tolerant. Still, few survive right next to the building. Another stressor is the salt from the sidewalk and parking lot applications. Since about 1995, we have removed more than half the old overgrown and badly pruned junipers from the area and tried to keep the remaining ones pruned regularly and well. Since those hardy shrubs thrive, cover ground and provide winter interest, we should hesitate to remove the last few. Some of the groundcover plants thrive as well, crowding weeds out of their areas and requiring little maintenance. Lately we have tried to let them fill their spots and decrease the higher-maintenance plants. 2011 was the first year we have mulched those beds because our goal was to cover the ground with living groundcovers. Realistically, it is too dry and difficult an area to do that well, particularly along the building. Mulched spaces between the remaining groups will conserve water and moisture and avoid the weedy look.
On the other hand, a coarse mulch of wood chips makes some of the groundcovers more difficult to maintain by shearing them back after flowering, which they need badly, so those should be eliminated. Maintaining some of the perennial groundcovers where tulips and daffodils are planted will help camouflage the bulb foliage as it dies back.
Plants to be removed from this area in 2012: mother-of-thyme, lamb’s ears, blue fescue, silver mint.
Plants to divide and replant in a different spot; dwarf iris and violets, Herman’s Pride false lamium, coralbells, Korean mums. The Andorra juniper was pruned rigorously and if it doesn’t improve in appearance, it may be removed.
Plants to be added; perhaps the dwarf reblooming yellow iris and ‘Happy Returns’ daylilies from the rain garden; try some “hens and chicks” along the building wall near the container.
Maintenance: Deadhead lungwort and bergenia by May 1. Moved plants are likely to need occasional watering in summer. More mulch may be needed after plants are removed.
Wilson Park – MG ideas requested
Posted in Community Projects, Uncategorized on March 29, 2012| 2 Comments »
In Milan there is a new destination in Wilson Park which was created and dedicated in 2012 called Milan Veteran’s Wall of Honor. Milan Garden Club will be responsible for planting the several raised planters in that area and would love to hear what plant suggestions our readers have for the 3 raised beds and the two areas in front of the two raised beds. There are two “L” shaped beds in the front which are 16″ high and planting area is 34″ inside width. The shorter length of the “L” is 9′ and the longer length is 15′.
The third planter is located in the center of the memorial area, is square, also 16″ high, and the inside planting area about 22″ wide. Because of the statue in the center of this planting area the height of plants can not exceed 16″ when mature.
This area faces west and has some large trees on the east and south sides but it receives about 6 hours of sun each day. All plant suggestions must be drought tolerant (there are soaker hoses in the planters) and low maintenance (no shrubs that require pruning for shape). The photos show some mums in pots which were planted last fall for the Veteran’s Wall dedication. These plants will probably be moved to another location.
Plants under current consideration are Lavender Hidcote (18″ x 18″), Bolder Blue Festuca (12″ x 12″), Happy Returns Daylily (18″ x 18), Carefree Sunshine Knock-out rose, OSO Happy Petit Pink Rose, and Pennisetum Little Bunny (12″). The grasses you see in front of the raised planters are Little Zebra and were planted last fall by the city in preparation for the dedication ceremony. They are going to be removed and replaced with a shorter variety grass (and perhaps the mums) because they will mature to be taller than the planters. Suggestions from our readers are needed for that area as well. We are also thinking of using Profusion Zinnias annuals for color this first year while the perennials mature.
Please reply to this post for your suggestions. Let’s help Milan Veteran’s Wall of Honor grow!
Expert Pruning Demo March 31 – by Jennie Stanger
Posted in Events, Trees and Shrubs, Uncategorized on March 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Expert pruning demonstration March 31
Both recent weather and the calendar say it is time to prune many fruit and ornamental trees, but local home orchardists may want to wait for more guidance, because MSU Extension district fruit educator Bob Tritten is scheduled to demonstrate at a local orchard March 31. There is no harm in waiting. In fact, the usual recommendation is to wait until early April to prune the more tender stone fruits like peaches. As the trees begin to come out of dormancy, they are more susceptible to a late spring cold snap. Freshly cut branches are more susceptible, and in April it is easier to see which twigs have been injured by cold because they begin to dry out while the healthy ones remain smooth with swelling buds.
Mr. Tritten has trained professionals to prune, and has demonstrated home orchard pruning for large county audiences in previous years as well as at other sites in the region. The Monroe Conservation District and the Master Gardeners are sponsoring this Saturday morning event at the home of Jennie Stanger, 18918 McCarty Rd, Dundee. It will begin, rain or shine, at 9:30 am and cover the training of young trees as well as maintenance pruning of mature apples and peaches with tips on how and whether to renovate older trees.
Registration is not required but participants should dress for the weather and a donation of $5 is requested.
Stretching the Gardening Season into Winter – by Mary Ellen Babich
Posted in Garden Showcase, Uncategorized on February 26, 2012| 4 Comments »
We use our gardening knowledge and experience to challenge ourselves to create gardens we can enjoy into late Autumn. Then Winter arrives, most gardening activities come to an abrupt halt, and we become armchair gardeners, paging through seed catalogues and occasionally looking out the window to see if the birdfeeders need filling. Maybe we should get up out of our cozy chairs, take a critical look at our Winter gardens, and consider how we can improve them to extend the gardening season even further by adding more Winter interest.
Spring, Summer, and Autumn gardens are relatively easy to plan and execute when compared to Winter gardens. During the warmer seasons we spend most of our gardening hours, hands-on, drawing, digging, planting, weeding, mowing, and simply enjoying everything connected to being outdoors. Winter changes all of that. The drop in temperature alone presents gardeners with an extreme obstacle to overcome: we don’t want to go outside into the cold. And there aren’t any flowering or green leafy plants to enjoy. But gardening and garden designing are not just warm weather endeavors.
Winter presents us with an opportunity to enjoy the overall structure of our gardens because there are no plants to distract us. Think about how you can adjust your landscape canvas by adding various elements when the weather permits. Adding trees, shrubs, and grasses with dramatic colors or interesting shapes clearly extend the garden season beyond Summer and into Autumn. To make an easy transition into Winter interest, plant deciduous shrubs likecontorted filbert and red twig dogwood. To take Winter interest even further, add evergreens such as hemlock, spruce, or pines. To complement the plant material, add hardscape elements such as fences, sculpture, or fountains.
To fully appreciate Winter gardening, we must engage our senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing with greater intensity. To do this you must go outside and observe your gardens like you do in the other seasons. Look around. With shorter days and tree canopies gone, the lighting is very different. Breathe in the cold, clean air. Touch the shaggy bark on a deciduous tree. Taste a snowflake or an icicle. Listen to the rustling of tree limbs in the wind.
Once you’ve engaged your Winter senses, identify a structural element that you enjoy observing from inside your home during the Winter months and begin to track it with the seasons. The structural element you choose can be a tree, stone bench, rose arbor, or fence. Does the element complement or compete with the surrounding plant material? Should the element be relocated or should plant material be rearranged to create a more harmonious design? How can you design this space for optimum appeal year round when viewing it both from inside and outside your home?
I track several structural elements in my gardens, but I particularly enjoy tracking the garden seasons around the cairn my husband and I built in my shade garden. Cairn is a word of Scottish origin meaning literally a “heap of rocks.” As you will see, this heap of rocks, a permanent sculpture in my garden, changes with the seasons.
CAIRN 1 SPRING
Color in the Spring shade garden abounds where Trillium, sweet woodruff, ferns, and ginger punctuate the foreground of the cairn.
CAIRN 2 SUMMER
Long blooming Cornus kousa dogwood adds a splash of color lasting several weeks in the Summer shade garden.
CAIRN 3 AUTUMN
Golden leaves crunch underfoot while the shade garden foliage continues it’s show in the Autumn garden.
CAIRN 4 WINTER
Obscured by a deep Winter snowfall, the cairn becomes a perfect cone rising out of the landscape.
If you don’t include your Winter gardens in your ongoing design process, you’re missing a great opportunity to extend your gardening into another season.
A Profusion of Zinnias – By Naida Albin
Posted in Uncategorized on January 18, 2012| 4 Comments »
I was not familiar with “Profusion Zinnias” until our MG group toured the home of Karen Hehl two summers ago. In her garden were rows of these great mounds of very bright and colorful zinnias that just knocked your socks off! Our entire group was drawn to these plants and Karen advised us that she had started them from seeds. Well, I can tell you that when the seed catalogs started arriving last January my priority was to find and order those seeds.
I bought two packages of each (25 seeds to a packet), yellow, white and cherry intending to only use the yellow and white at my home and the cherry at Hack House Museum. I very carefully planted each color in separate containers and marked them well. When the seedlings were ready to transplant I again carefully segregated the colors and put them in separate flats with visible identification. Ah, the best laid plans…..I won’t even tell you what happened over the course of growing them on, before planting them in the garden, but when it was time to plant there were several containers that I didn’t have a clue about and others I was quite sure about but even using those caused surprise – as you can see in the photo – when they started to flower. This photo was taken in late summer – colors had faded some but were still vibrant.
If you like a colorful bed of annuals I believe Profusion Zinnias are one of the best flowering annuals available. They bloom the entire summer and stay looking good because the new leaves and 2″ flowers cover the old ones so deadheading is not required. The seed books state “they are very tolerant of mildew (true) and other foliage diseases that plague many Zinnias, are easy to grow and can even be direct-sown.” They are available in many colors, with double or single flowers, and a mature plant is about 15″ tall and 15″ wide!
Think Spring!
